Back To Life
by Malboro-Pearls
Summary: Edward moves to the small and isolated town of Forks to escape his daily fight. Trying to escape his secret and start over isn't as easy as he'd hoped it would be but a local man, Jasper tries to make his move easier on him and help him open up and live his life again. But how do you live your life when all you see is death?
1. Prologue

_**Prologue**_

Confusion.

Loss.

Anger and pain.

Outrage.

Acceptance.

That was the way it always went.

Most of the time they lingered on anger and pain, still confused, wanting to be a part of a world they no longer belonged in.

More often than not I was the one the anger was taken out on. I was the one to take the brunt of the pain that was coursing through them even though I never really knew what the anger was actually aimed at.

What I did know was that because it seemed that I was the only one they could communicate with, it was me they took their pain out on.

And I couldn't handle it anymore.

I had to get away from all of the people, past and present to try and escape.

To try and live my life.

But the question is, how do you live you life when all you see is death?


	2. Chapter I

_**Disclaimer: No matter how much I wish I did, I don't own Twilight. I just like to take the characters and put them in positions that would probably terrify Stephenie Meyer.**_

_**Chapter 1**_

_**Edward**_

Climbing out of my car, I looked up at the old Victorian I'd bought a month ago. It looked more rundown than in the photographs supplied on the internet. I knew that realistically, I should have seen the property first hand before buying it but it was exactly what I was looking for.

A fixer-upper in the middle of nowhere.

It was exactly what I needed to escape the busy life I'd had before and it gave me something to keep myself occupied, for a while at least.

"Mr Masen!" I turned to see a leggy blonde walking towards me, a small smile on her face. "Rosalie McCarty. I was wondering when you were going to get here." She held out her hand and I shook it, returning her small smile.

"Yeah, there was an accident on the 101. Took a while to clear." I shrugged and she grinned at me. "And call me Edward. Mr Masen is my father."

"You must have set out early to get here from Seattle for this time." I looked at my watch and saw that it was half eleven. "Either that or you just drive twice the speed limit."

"Generally the first one." I laughed and she joined me. "I let about eight this morning. I'm an early riser and there didn't seem much point in hanging around when I could just get on the road. Plus, I wanted to be here before the moving vans arrived." She nodded her approval and apparently my OCD tendencies met her standards.

"So, here's all the paperwork and the keys, list of numbers you might need, you know, plumbers and things like that." I nodded, opening the envelope she'd given me. "Want me to give you a quick tour?" I nodded, gesturing for her to take the lead. She quirked an eyebrow, making me remember that I was the one with the key.

Unlocking the door, I could see that it hadn't been lived in for a while.

"The last tenants moved out a little over two years ago." She said softly as we stepped into the entrance hall.

"How come no one's moved in since?" I asked, looking around, mentally cataloguing the work that needed to be done.

"Well, the 'Crowley House' as its known, doesn't have the best reputation." She replied and I raised an eyebrow. I wasn't a fan of the cryptic. From the smirk she gave me, I could tell that she wasn't either. "They say it's haunted."

"Haunted?" I raised an eyebrow at her again and she nodded. "Great." It came out as a barely audible sigh and she looked at me strangely. "Do you believe it's haunted?"

"I don't believe in ghosts or anything that goes bump in the night apart from my husband, if you get my drift," I chuckled and she grinned at me, a smile I couldn't return. "So no."

_If only you knew,_ I thought, blowing out a huff of air.

"I think they're just stories to scare the locals on Halloween." She chuckled, shaking her head.

"When did the stories start?" She raised an eyebrow at me, clearly wondering why I was asking. "There weren't any notes about the history of the house or about it being haunted in the information I was given-"

"Not really something to broadcast, is it?" She had a point there.

"Well, I've bought the house now." I turned to look at her, shrugging me shoulder. "Not really much to be done about it, is there?"

"True," she looked around, taking a breath. "Bear in mind, these are just stories that had been told. Apparently, in the forties, the Crowley family used to live here. Very well off, as you can tell," she gestured around the house. "They held parties and clubs and all kinds of things like that."

"Social hub of Forks, then." I snorted and she nodded.

"Pretty much. If you were someone in Forks, you were invited to a Crowley party. Even those who weren't as well off knew them in some way. Mrs Crowley was involved in a lot of charity events that were starting to prosper at the time. She had a lot of time with those who weren't so well off." I walked through to the main living area.

"So what happened?" I asked, hearing her follow me into the room.

"Well, the Crowley's had four children, three girls and a boy. The boy had been sent off to boarding school while the girls were kept at home. They were always there at the parties, matches being made and all of that. You know, parents trying to build a better reputation for themselves, everything to further yourself, right?" She chuckled, shaking her head again. "Anyway, it was said that there was supposed to be a banquet but when the guests started arriving there were no staff to help them out of their cars like their normally were. There was no door staff. Mr and Mrs Crowley weren't there to greet them at the doors. In fact there was no one at the doors at all. The only lights on were the ones in this room and the one in the upstairs hallway. When first guests let themselves in, figuring that if no one was going to open the doors for them, they were going to do it themselves, they found the Crowley's maid and butler dead in the foyer. The only one that wasn't found was the Crowley's son but that was because he was at boarding school at the time. Everyone else in the family, including the staff that were there that night were killed. Total bloodbath, according to the old papers and stories from the older folks around town."

"I can see why that wouldn't be one of the main selling points." I smirked and she chuckled gently. "So people have stayed away from it since?"

"The last Crowley family member is in his late fifties now and as you can see, the house isn't really the best place for an older person. At least not at the moment." I couldn't help but agree with her on that point. If the guy was old and wasn't sure of his footing there was no telling what could happen. "He moved into a small bungalow a little closer to town a few years ago after he had a fall and decided to rent it out. After he couldn't get anyone else to _rent_ it out, he decided to sell. Unfortunately for him though, everyone that came to see the house got wind of the stories and didn't take up on it. It's a shame, though. With some work to it, this could be an amazing house again."

"It could." I agreed. I hoped that the stories were just stories. I'd moved away from the city to try and get rid of those things. But unfortunately, if the stories were based on truth, there was no way for me to escape.

At least I could definitely prove if the stories are true or false.

Not that the locals would believe me.

"It's taken eighteen months for this place to sell." She looked at me out of the corner of her eye, a strange look in her eye. "Don't let them put you off this place, Edward. There's a lot of narrow-minded people in this place that will do anything to scare anyone new."

"I think I can handle them." I smirked and she nodded in approval. Apparently, she wasn't a fan of those people either.

"Right, well, as you can guess, this is the main living area and through these doors," she moved over a pair of doors I hadn't noticed before, "is a drawing room or a study, or whatever you want to turn it into really. And leading on from that we had a conservatory."

She gave me a short tour through the house, not bringing up the ghost stories again, which I was thankful for. I'd had enough of all of that shit for the time being. I'd be able to deal with that when it came along. I knew that it wasn't something I could avoid completely but I was going to try as hard as I could. At least with few people, that was a possibility, right?

After saying goodbye to Rosalie and watching her pull out of the driveway, I made my way back into my car, grabbing the stuff out of the trunk, a large suitcase and duffel bag I'd had with my while I stayed in Seattle. I dumped my stuff just inside the front door, grabbing my cigarettes and phone before heading through the house to the back porch and lighting up. I scrolled through my contacts, finding the one I wanted before hitting it and holding the phone to my ear.

"_Hello?"_

"Hey, it's Edward."

"_Hello, son, where are you?"_

"I just pulled up to the house." I turned up to look at the enormous house I'd just purchased. "It's bigger than I thought it would be."

"_I warned you about its size._" He laughed and I couldn't help but grin.

"Yeah, so . . . how come you didn't warn me about the stories that come with the house, huh?" _Silence._ I smirked, knowing that I had him. "Come on, Carlisle. Why didn't you tell me about the fact that the majority of this tiny town believes the house I've just bought has been haunted since the forties?"

"_Well, I thought that with your . . . ability . . . maybe it would have been better to not divulge that information_." I chuckled, shaking my head.

"Come on, Carlisle, you really thought that wasn't something I should know?" I took another drag of my cigarette, throwing it over the back porch, leaning on the railing and looking over at the fucking enormous garden than came with it. I knew now that the only reason I managed to get this place at around half its worth was because of the stories I hadn't been made aware of. It was possible that if I'd been made aware of them I would have been one of the ones to show an interest but not actually buy it as well. But for a completely different reason.

"_I'm sorry if you're upset, Edward."_ He sounded upset himself and that wasn't something I wanted. "_I just didn't want anything to sway your decision."_

"These stories are about the exact what I'm trying to escape. You know that!" My shoulders slumped and I felt all the fight leave me. "And you're the only one that believes it."

"_I know."_ He sighed and I could hear the regret in his voice. "_I know I should have warned you about the stories surrounding the property but Esme and I . . . we just wanted you close again. Ever since everything happened with you father . . . we just wanted to have you near again. We've missed you, Edward."_

"I know," I sighed, running my hand through my hair, "I've missed you guys, too." I glanced back through the house as I heard the gravel crunching in the driveway. "Hey, Carlisle, the moving trucks just turned up so I've got to go but I'll come and see you and Esme in the next couple of days alright."

We said our goodbyes and hung up as I walked into the house to see a couple of guys getting out of the trucks. I opened the front door and they grinned at me, looking as exhausted as I felt. Hell, they'd done the same drive I had, stopping in different areas to me but essentially, they'd done the same drive.

I quickly told them what went in what room and they managed to quickly unload all of my furniture into the correct rooms. The trickiest part was getting my bed up the stairs but then again that's always generally the hardest bits of furniture to get situated when moving.

It didn't take us long to empty the trucks and I was soon waving them off, not envying their journey back at all. I walked back into the house, deciding to leave everything until the following day because I was purely too fucking tired to start unpacking shit now and made my way upstairs.

I opened the windows, letting some air in as I turned and pondered whether I wanted my bed where the movers had placed it. Looking at it I realised that the movers had actually put it in a pretty good position. Until I got bored anyway.

Opening up the boxes that held my bedding, I pulled out some sheets and my comforter, making the bed quickly. I wanted to just flop down and got to sleep but I was as hungry as fuck with no food in the house. Pulling out my phone, I Googled restaurants near here and found that the only real place was a diner in town. Figures. But then again I did make the decision to move to the middle of fucking nowhere.

Into an apparently haunted house, mind you.

Well, I hadn't heard anything out of the ordinary so far.

Probably just the locals trying to scare each other.

For some kind of entertainment.

I debated just calling in for takeout but decided against it seeing as I knew I'd be spending more than enough time in the house. And it couldn't hurt to go and mingle with the locals and find my way around town, could it?

I hoped not anyway.

Grabbing my jacket, phone, wallet and smokes, I made my way out to my car and into town. It didn't take me long to find my way to the diner and I was slightly surprised to see how many cars there were parked outside. More than I would have thought. True they were all rustbuckets apart from the sleek black BMW and enormous Hummer. Climbing out of the car, I walked confidently into the diner, hearing the noise die down slightly as they registered someone new in their midst.

I made my way to the counter, knowing that there were eyes on me, probably wondering who the hell I was and where I'd come from.

"Hey, darlin'," I smiled at the woman behind the counter. She was slightly over, maybe early forties or so, carrying a little bit of weight but she looked good. "What can I get ya?"

"Um . . . a menu and a coffee, please . . ." I raised an eyebrow and she smiled gently.

"Tanya." She held out her hand and I took it.

"Edward."

"One coffee coming right up." She laughed as she placed a menu in front of me and I saw that it was really a meat and potatoes kind of place. I looked at the menu, seeing that they did freshly made garden burgers. "Here you are." She placed a mug down in front of me, filled it until I told her when.

"How fresh are the garden burgers?" I asked and she grinned.

"Well, right now, they're separate ingredients but you order one and they're slapped together in about fifteen minutes." Sshe raised an eyebrow and I chuckled softly. "How's that for fresh?"

"Freshest I've heard of. They got carrots in them?" She nodded and I bit down on my lip. "Any chance I could get one without carrots in it?"

"Gimme a good enough reason and I'll see what I can do." _Tough crowd._

_I like her_. "Allergic." Her brow shot up and I nodded, taking a mouthful of coffee. "I really don't feel like taking an overnight trip to the hospital my first night in town."

"Oh, so you're the new guy everyone's been talking about." She smirked and I shrugged. "Alright, that reason passes. Full Garden Burger with fries, hold the carrots?" I nodded and she wrote it down, making her way back to the kitchens.

"Think yourself lucky." I jumped slightly as an enormous body sat on the stool next to me. "She doesn't take special orders for just anyone, you know?"

"I didn't but now I do." I shook my head, drinking some more of my coffee as he held out his hand.

"Emmett McCarty." I shook his hand, informing him of my name. "I know, man. Practically everyone round here knows who you are. New meat and all."

"So I can expect people to be staring at me wherever I go, then?" I rolled my eyes and he laughed, a booming sound that nearly scared the shit out of me.

"It'll die down soon enough. Just because you're new."

"Doesn't have anything to do with the house I'm living in then?" I raised an eyebrow at him and he laughed again. "Thought so."

"Well, there are some stories that I've heard about that place. It's pretty much the horror story that everyone around here grows up with." He looked serious for a moment and I wondered exactly what I've heard. "Some of the things that come from that place aren't nice to hear about."

"Then don't tell me about then, please." I grimaced, not wanting to hear about what may or may not have happened in the house I was looking to turn into my home. "Not something I really want to know about. If things start to go bump in the night, then I'll start to worry but until then, I'm quite content in my ignorance."

"Then you're stupid." I rolled my eyes, letting out a breath at the new voice that had entered the conservation. Uninvited, I might add.

"And why's that?" I raised an eyebrow at the kid that was sat glaring at me from where he was a couple of stools down.

"Because everyone knows that house is fucking evil." I let out a chuckle, shaking my head, finishing off my coffee. "Maybe you should have listened to the stories like everyone else and stayed away."

"Well, maybe I don't care for stories people tend to tell each other for shits and giggles." I shrugged and he glared at me again. _What the hell was with these people? They took their haunted house stories fucking seriously._

"You'll see."

"Maybe I will and maybe I won't. But," I turned to face him fully, "if I find you or any of your little friends," I motioned to the group behind him, "or any evidence of you on my property, I _will_ be calling the cops. Understood?"

He didn't answer me, turning back to his friends and I chuckled again, turning back to the counter, finding that my cup was once again full of coffee. I smiled at Tanya, who winked at me before moving on to someone else.

"It's always good to have Tanya on side." Emmett chuckled and I had to admit, I'd almost forgotten that he was even there. "Ignore those little shits. That's Royce King and his little fuckwit friends. They like to think they own the town."

"Well, they're gonna learn real quick that I don't scare easy." I muttered and he laughed softly, though it was still louder than everyone else I knew. "You know any decent security places around here?"

"Closest place is Port Angeles. Can give you a list of places if you want." I shook my head, waving him off.

"Nah, I can Google some places later. It's fine. I managed to get my phone line and internet set up before I moved in." He nodded, seemingly in approval. "So what do you do around this place?"

"I own the garage you might have seen on your way into town." I thought for a moment, shaking my head.

"Sorry, all I saw on my way into town was green." He laughed and I couldn't help but smile as Tanya appeared with two plates of food.

"One steak with everything and one garden burger – no carrots – with fries." She winked again as she placed them down in front of us. "Anything else for you, dears?"

"I'm all good." Emmett grinned, digging into the food.

"This is great, thank you." She nodded, turning away to serve someone else that was waiting for her.

"No carrots?" Emmett laughed and I shook my head. "Not a fan of the things that are good for you?" I looked pointedly at his plate of cholesterol, fat and calories and he laughed again. "Alright, alright, shut up."

"I didn't say anything." I chuckled and he rolled his eyes. "As for the no carrots thing, I'm allergic."

"Seriously?" I nodded, used to that reaction. It wasn't an allergy many had heard of. "That's weird."

"Tell me about it. It's not actually the carrots. It's the colorant that makes them orange. They put it in all kinds of shit. That's why I'm cautious about what I eat." I bit into the burger, noting that it was possibly one of the best I'd ever tasted. Fuck! If this was how I could eat from now on, I didn't mind spending a few extra bucks a week. "I stick to what I know and everything's alright."

"What is it?" Emmett looked confused.

"It's a natural colorant. Beta-carotene. It's in fuckloads of shit. Pretty much anything orange or bright yellow." I shrugged and he laughed. "I'm weird. I know." _If only you knew the half of it._

"Hey, man!" Emmett turned to see who'd called him and grinned as his eyes landed on a tall blonde man walking towards the two of us.

"Hey, Jazz." Emmett flung an arm around the man and he sagged dramatically. I couldn't help but laugh at the acted effort he put into holding Emmett's arm up. There was a clear bond between the two of them and I felt my heart clench as I wished I had someone like that to lean on in my life. I pushed that thought and feeling away from me, knowing that I couldn't afford to have that kind of relationship with anyone.

They were there for me until they found out what a freak I was and disappeared after blabbing to someone about my strange behaviour and then getting me put away inside another hospital.

I'd vowed that I would never set foot in another facility again now that I had turned twenty one and couldn't be forced anymore. I'd had too much of my life taken away from me and I'd made a promise to myself that I would place myself in a position where someone could take advantage of me like that again.

It didn't matter where I was, who I was with or what I was doing.

I had to do it alone.

. . . . . . .


	3. Chapter II

_**Disclaimer: No matter how much I wish I did, I don't own Twilight. I just like to take the characters and put them in positions that would probably terrify Stephenie Meyer.**_

_**Chapter 2**_

_**Edward**_

"Yo, Edward!" I turned back to Emmett and the guy that had just appeared next to him. He was watching me with a curious gaze, probably intrigued by the new guy in town just like everyone else was.

Wondering how mad he was to be moving into a haunted house no less.

"This is my man, Jasper Whitlock. Jazz, this is Edward Masen, the new guy in town." He held out his hand behind Emmett and I nodded in greeting, indicating that I couldn't vocally introduce myself as I had a full mouth.

Swallowing my mouthful, I let out a breath. "Sorry about that. Edward." He laughed, gently, shaking his head and clapping Emmett on the back, his eyes shining with mirth as Emmett choked slightly, glaring at him.

"You finding your way around alright?" He asked, ignoring Emmett, who acted as though it was a regular occurrence. I shook my head, realising it probably was.

"Not really much to the place, is there?" I chuckled and he laughed gently.

"That's what I thought when I first moved here." I raised an eyebrow and he nodded. "I know. Pretty much everyone else here is Forks born and bred but there are those like you and me that are outsiders." He made it sound like we'd entered some kind of cult or something and I had to laugh as I finished off my fries. "You done?" I nodded and he grinned. "Why don't I take you on a quick tour of the town?"

"Really?" I wondered what this guy was talking about. Was it like I really needed a tour?

"Yeah." He chuckled and I couldn't help but smile. "Ever since that goddamn vampire movie came out there's been a surge in tourism in the area but there are still places that only the locals know about, if you're up for it."

To be honest, I wanted to find out about the town. It had been too long since I'd had a proper conversation with someone and I missed it. I wanted to be able to talk to someone but I knew that there would be things I had to keep to myself. Genuine friendship only really worked with complete honesty. Of course there were things that people never shared but those weren't generally things that affected day to day life.

I could never tell when something was going to pop up.

I hated being taken by surprise.

"Sure," I shrugged, not really having a decent excuse to say no. His smile was infectious and I turned back to Tanya about to ask for the bill when she waved me off as I took out my wallet.

"On the house, sweetheart." She smiled and I raised an eyebrow. "Newbies get a free meal. So put that away, your money's no good here. Not today, at least."

"Alright, I can see I'm not going to win this one." I mock argued as I slid off the stool and followed Jasper out of the diner. I let out a breath before taking my cigarettes and lighting one. I offered one to Jasper who smirked at me, taking one and lighting it, handing my lighter back to me. "So where's the entertainment in this place?"

"To be honest, there isn't any." He laughed and I rolled my eyes, chuckling as I took another drag.

"So let me get this right, my guess is, the only real entertainment in this town is gossip and the stories that come from the house I've just bought, huh?" I asked and he laughed.

"Pretty much." I nodded, realising that most of the gossip surrounding the house would now be the main gossip in town again. "It'll die down. It's only because you're new in town. It wouldn't have mattered if you'd moved into any other house. You'd still be the main gossip in town."

"My penance for moving into a small town then, isn't it?" He nodded and I looked around, wondering what people were actually saying about me. It wouldn't be anything close to the truth, but that wasn't the point. I didn't really want people talking about me at all to be perfectly honest.

But unfortunately, things weren't that simple.

"Ready for the grand tour?" He laughed and I shrugged, nodding slightly and he started walking down the street.

During the walk, he pointed out various stores and places I might need to know. Doctors, dentists and those kinds of things. Things that would be necessary and I made a mental note to register on Monday.

He also told me about the ones to avoid in the town. Apparently there were a few women in town that needed to be avoided. Some of them single, some of them not but all looking for a new guy to try and stick their claws into. Not that I would be taking them up on that at all but there we go.

"So, it sounds like you know them from experience." I smirked and he laughed.

"They attacked me when I first got into town but I had my sister to drive them away." He laughed.

"Wish I had one of those." I mumbled and he chuckled again.

"Well, from the way you had Tanya wrapped around your little finger, you might do." He looked at me grinning and winking as we walked. "Don't think her husband and kids would be too impressed about it though."

"Does she do that often?"

"Nah, only when there's someone she knows needs someone. There must have been something about you that spoke to her."

"Do I look that bad?" I joked and he looked at me with a curious expression.

"Nah, but it's kinda obvious that you're new. I mean, a town this size, everyone knows everyone else so someone new sticks out. And the fact that you were in the diner on your own when you've just arrived in town and not picking up something to take out is kind of a giveaway that you're here on your own." He shrugged and I had to agree. It was kind of a giveaway. "Got anything you need to grab before we head back?"

"I just wanted to head into a store and get a couple of things to eat before anything else. I need to work out what I need to do with the house before I can really work on anything." I said and he nodded, gesturing towards a small grocery store across the street.

We spent about fifteen minutes or so in there before I figured I could do a larger shop tomorrow seeing as I knew where the place was now.

"Hey, if you need any help fixing up the place then gimme a call. I don't really have much to do around here at the moment." He offered and I looked at him, surprised.

"Do you not work?" I chuckled and he laughed, shaking his head.

"Not at the moment, no." I raised an eyebrow, confused and he grinned. There was something about this guy that just seemed to be happy all the time. "I'm a teacher at Forks Elementary."

"Ah, so that's where the experience with the grabby women comes from then." He nodded, grimacing at the thought.

"Yes, unfortunately. But we're out for the summer, so if you need any help fixing up the house, then I'm all yours." He smirked and I rolled my eyes, lighting another cigarette as we made our way back to the diner.

"I might take you up on that. The photos on the internet were misleading about the amount of work that needed to be done." We approached my car and I unlocked it, opening the trunk and placing the bags in there before closing it and running a hand through my hair. "That's not all it was misleading about."

"It didn't say anything about the history, did it?" I shook my head, taking another drag of my cigarette before throwing it on the ground and grinding it out with the heel of my shoe.

"No, it didn't. Part of me knows that if I'd known about the history of the house, I wouldn't have bought it." I admitted and he smirked.

"Not afraid of a few scary stories, are you?" He smirked and I shook my head, chuckling gently.

"No, I'm not but . . ."

"But?"

"I'm not like everyone else." He raised an eyebrow, waiting for me to continue, shaking his head when I didn't.

"That's all I'm getting, isn't it?"

"'Fraid so." No matter what my first impression of Jasper might have been, no matter how much of a good guy he seemed to be, I didn't trust him yet and I didn't know if I ever would. Too many people had betrayed my trust before and I didn't want to take the risk again. "Anyway, I'm gonna head back. It's been a long day."

"Gimme your phone." He held out his hand and I gave it to him, realising he was inputting his number. He waited for a second before handing it back to me and I pocketed it, giving him a nod before turning and getting into my car. He gave me a small wave as I pulled out of the diner parking lot and made my way back to the house.

Or _home_ as I should start calling it.

Pulling up the driveway, I stopped and sat in the car for a moment, running through what had happened in the last eight hours or so. I'd woken up and driven from Seattle and found out that the house I'd just bought and was preparing to move into was rumoured to be haunted, moved all of my stuff into it and met some of the locals including an intriguing elementary school teacher that had the most captivating blue eyes and an amazing smile.

I couldn't allow myself to think that way about him or anyone else.

I put all of my things away in the fridge and the cupboards in the kitchen before I made my way upstairs and opened up one of the suitcases I'd brought upstairs and pulled out some sweats and an old t-shirt. Changing quickly I didn't even have the energy to make my way to the shower, figuring I'd have one in the morning before flopping down into bed and curling up under the duvet.

I let out a breath, closing my eyes as I tried to relax. It always took me a while to get used to a new place but at least this new place wasn't somewhere I'd be checked on for suicidal tendencies every hour. At least here I wasn't regimented and forced to attend therapy and take medications I knew wouldn't work but was never listened to no matter what I said.

I knew it wouldn't work because what I was seeing wasn't in my head.

Unlike everyone else in those places, I wasn't insane.

What I was seeing was real but because no one else could see it, it had to be some kind of mental illness.

If only they knew.

No one knew what to say when they realised that I wasn't exactly normal. I remembered when I first told my mother about the little boy in the Victorian clothing that waited for me outside no matter the weather. She told me that he was an imaginary friend and no one else could see him.

She would always ask me what his name was but I couldn't tell her because he hadn't told me. He didn't say anything to me. He looked at me with empty black eyes before disappearing.

I tried to tell her that he was real but she'd just brush me off and tell me that I was too old to have imaginary or _invisible_ friends as she called them and told me to make friends of my own.

If only it were that easy.

I woke up quickly, just as I always did when something wasn't quite right. It was still dark out and I looked at my phone to see that it was just gone three in the morning. I ran my hands through my hair, before running them down my face and grumbling to myself.

I stilled at a sound I knew shouldn't be happening in the house.

I climbed out of bed, wincing slightly at the cold floor reminding myself to see if I could have under-floor heating put in. Or at least how much it would cost for that fucker.

I quietly walked across the room, hearing the noise again – a slight thumping noise – as I opened the door to my bedroom. I couldn't figure out where the noise was coming from as I stood out on the landing and made my way to the stairs. It had stopped and I made my way downstairs and I grabbed the bottle of milk I'd placed in the fridge before shaking and opening it. I hadn't unpacked the cutlery and crockery yet and I was the only one that was going to be drinking out of the bottle so I didn't think twice about drinking from the bottle.

I paused, hearing something that sounded like footsteps behind me, seeing nothing as I turned. I placed the milk back in the fridge and turned around as I closed the door. I walked slowly towards the main living area, wondering if it was those kids from the diner round here to wind me up and test my words from earlier or whether the stories surrounding this place were true.

"Come out, come out wherever you are." I whispered, stepping into the drawing room and looking around into the conservatory and seeing nothing. The footsteps had stopped and I turned back to the door, freezing as I saw her standing in the doorway, watching me.

I didn't move and neither did she.

She was wearing an elegant 1940's evening dress and a lot of diamonds and it was clear that she was made of money. She watched me, her eyes completely black and I couldn't work out if she was one of the ones that knew she wasn't supposed to be here anymore.

She was tall, possibly around five foot nine or ten and slender. She would have been desired in her time. She stepped towards me, her gait purposeful and direct. She knew I was here and that didn't always bode well for me. I stepped backwards as she moved forwards, cursing when I found myself backed into the wall.

She stepped right up in front of me and I pressed myself against the wall as far as I could go.

She reached up, her pitch eyes gazing over my face as she rested her fingers on my cheek.

Now to any normal person, this would just feel like a chill, like someone had just turned on the A/C or opened a window but to me, it felt like someone actually touching my face like if it was actually someone everyone else could see.

But no one else could see them.

If someone was to look in my window right now, they would see me pressed up against the wall and that's it. They wouldn't see the woman in front of me, her face expressionless as her eyes combed over my face. They wouldn't see her hand touching my cheek or the way she was standing in front of me, nearly pressed up against me.

She increased the pressure on my cheek before a snarl appeared on her face and she raked her nails down my cheek, causing me to shout out in pain. She let out a high pitched scream before disappearing from in front of me and I was left standing there panting. I put my hand up to my cheek and pulled it away, seeing blood on my hand.

_Great._ How the fuck was I going to explain that to people? I'd just have to improvise I guess. Accident at the house? Wasn't far from the truth. It happened at the house and everyone knew how precarious this place was.

I walked into the bathroom, rolling my eyes at the boxed that were in here as well. One thing I hated about moving. The boxes were insane.

I looked in the mirror, seeing that I had three bleeding gashes on my face and I sighed, closing my eyes. I opened one of the boxes, finding my towels and I dumped them in the shower, ready to deal with them later. Opening the second box that was in here, I found what I was looking for. I found the disinfectant and some clean flannels, wincing and hissing softly as I cleaned the cuts.

I let out a breath, not wanting to go through all of this again. I hated feeling like this.

Realising that I didn't really have anything else to do with the cuts, I left the disinfectant and washed out the flannel, hanging it over the small rack that was on underneath the mirror and turning to the boxes. I grabbed the box I'd shoved into the shower and pulled out the towels and hung two of them over the towel rack, putting the rest of them in the cupboard for later use. Moving onto the second box, I pulled out my toiletries and placed them where they were needed in the bathroom. Letting out a breath, I turned on the shower, holding my hand underneath the spray while I adjusted the settings before undressing and climbing into the shower. I closed my eyes, hissing as the hot water came into contact with the marks on my cheek, hating that they were there in the first place.

It wasn't the first time I'd cursed what I could see.

It wasn't the first time that one of them had hurt me.

It was after the first time I'd been physically hurt by one of them that my mother had become concerned. She didn't believe me when I told her that I hadn't done it. I'd been attacked and they'd left marks on my arms, deep gashes that needed to be stitched. My mother had been distraught, thinking that I had been suicidal, not listening to me when I tried to tell her the truth. Despite the fact that I was only ten, she and my father believed that I would try to kill myself.

That was the first time they put me in the hospital.

I'd learned pretty quickly not to talk to them about what I could see. I learned that I just had to pretend like they weren't there anymore and they'd be 'pleased with my progress' and then they'd fix the medication they'd given me and tell my parents that they felt that I was ready to go home.

When I got home it was like nothing had happened. My parents didn't act any different to how they had before they'd found the marks on me. The only thing to remind them of what had happened were faint scars left from the wounds. Nothing about their behaviour or routine – other than my mother religiously giving me pills everyday – gave away the fact that I hadn't been home in nearly four months.

It was the same every time.

Until my father died and my mother lost herself to depression.

But that's a story for another time.

They didn't know that I'd been lying to them whenever I'd managed to get out of whatever institution they'd placed me in. They didn't know that their concoctions and therapies made no difference whatsoever. I knew that I was different. I knew that I was a freak.

And that was why I had to leave Chicago. It seemed like everywhere I went everyone seemed to know that there was something not right with me. Especially my neighbours. Apparently they thought that I might be some kind of psychic or something and I had to get out of there.

I let out a breath, resting my hands on the wall in front of me, letting my head flop forwards underneath the shower spray.

_Well, at least now I know the rumours are true._

_. . . . . . . . ._


	4. Chapter III

_**Disclaimer: No matter how much I wish I did, I don't own Twilight. I just like to take the characters and put them in positions that would probably terrify Stephenie Meyer.**_

_**Edward**_

I knew that people were definitely going to notice the three deep scratches that were now adorning my left cheek. I let out a breath as I looked at my reflection in the mirror. I couldn't really see a way of covering them up without adding more attention to that area to begin with.

But how the fuck was I going to explain them when people asked?

Because I knew they were going to fucking ask.

I walked out into my bedroom, sitting down on my bed, running my hands through my hair, wishing that the rumours about this place had been just that. Fucking rumours. I would have been happy to tell them that everything they'd heard since it happened was false and that nothing had happened to me but now I couldn't lie to them.

Of course I couldn't tell them the truth either but that wasn't the goddamn point.

I grabbed my phone as it started ringing and smiled when I saw that it was Carlisle calling.

"Hey, Carlisle."

"_Hello, son."_ I couldn't help but smile when he called me that. Carlisle, even though I hadn't seen him often, was more of a father to me than my own had been. "_How was your first night in the house?"_

"Could have been worse." I sighed and I could almost feel him tense on the other end. "But it could have been better as well."

"_Are you okay?_" I could hear the concern in his voice and I couldn't help but smile at the tone. Why couldn't my own parents be as caring as my aunt and uncle?

"You got any plans for today?" No, not changing the subject, more trying to move it so I could explain properly instead of over the phone.

"_No. Did you want us to come over?"_

"Actually I was more thinking if I could come to yours. It's not the kind of thing I want to talk about in this house." I knew that he would understand my meaning and not want to come over here to talk about all of this. I didn't really want to piss that woman I'd seen off even more than she already seemed to be. And I couldn't be sure that she wasn't the only one here. According to what I'd been told, over a dozen people had been murdered that night, if you took into account the family and all of the staff that had been working that night.

And I didn't want to think about all of the people that might have died here over the entire history of the house.

That was enough to scare the shit out of anyone.

Including me.

"_Of course, son. What time were you thinking?_"

"Um . . . I can be over in about half an hour if that's alright with you?"

"_Of course._" He sounded slightly offended at the idea that I might think that they might not want me there anytime too soon. I should have known that Esme and Carlisle would never say no. They were the only ones I could count on not to abandon me when I needed them. "_We'll see you in half an hour_."

"Okay, I'll see you then." I hung up, flopping back on my bed as I let out a gust of air. It felt good to at least know that there were two people in my corner. Who knew everything about me and yet hadn't turned their backs on me, called me a freak, treated me any differently or tried to force me into a psych ward. They'd known about what I could do since I was little and had done nothing but give me a positive influence in my life. They hadn't called me a freak and turned their backs on me. They'd made me feel loved more than anyone else in my life had ever done.

I didn't know what I'd have done without them in my life.

Probably gone as insane as everyone thought I was.

It didn't take me long to grab the rest of the things I needed and make my way out to the car. I looked up towards the house, seeing it in a different light now that I knew what actually dwelled within the house.

"Apart from the fact that you were murdered, what the hell pissed you off so much?" I whispered to no one in particular, wondering if I would ever get the answer.

The drive to my aunt and uncle's house didn't take too long. I was careful not to miss the exit onto their ridiculously long driveway, knowing that there wasn't a spot anywhere near to turn around and I wasn't too keen to practically driving back into town before coming back and possibly missing it again.

Not for me, thank you very much.

I stopped in front of the house, stopping to marvel at the sight in front of me. It had always made me stop and gaze at it. There were no other houses around like it and I'd always loved it when my mother and I would come to visit during the summer. My father was always too busy with work to come with us, never putting in for any vacation time so he could spend time with me over the holidays. If anything, it would seem that he put in more hours whenever I was off school. I never voiced this to my mother because she would just get upset with me.

I never knew why he didn't like spending much time with me.

And I never got to ask before he died either.

I climbed out of the car and made my way up the steps to the front door. But before I could even raise my hand to knock on the door, it flew open and a small woman launched herself into my arms, nearly knocking me backwards. She was trembling in my arms and I couldn't work out whether she was laughing or crying but I looked over at Carlisle and saw that he was laughing at my predicament.

I wrapped my arms around my aunt, holding her to me as her arms snaked their way around my neck, pulling me further down to her level. I smiled into her hear, standing up straight, causing her feet to lift off of the ground. She giggled gently, lifting her head up to look at me, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

"Put me down, you big oaf." She laughed, squirming away from me as I placed her on her feet, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"Is that any way to speak to your favourite nephew?" I laughed and she giggled, slapping my arm gently.

"You're my _only_ nephew." She looked at my face again and her smile dropped as she took in the scratches on my cheek. "Oh my God," she grabbed my face, turning my head so she could see better. "What happened?"

"Can we talk about this inside?" I asked and she seemed to come to her senses, grabbing my hand and pulling me into the house.

"What happened?" She repeated as soon as the door was closed behind me.

"Hang on, Esme, let him breathe." Carlisle chuckled gently, walking over to me. He gently examined my cheek, letting a breath out through his nose. "How does it feel?"

"It's sore but other than that, I don't really feel anything." I admitted and he nodded, turning into the kitchen and grabbing a glass out of the cupboard. "I've had worse and you know that, Carlisle."

"I know and that's what scares me, Edward." He sighed, handing me two pills which looked like Tylenol and a glass of water. "To take the edge off. I think as long as you keep it clean, you'll be fine. How are you going to explain it when people see it?"

"I don't know." I took the pills, downing half the glass of water in a few gulps. "Thanks. I don't know what I'm going to say. I mean, I was thinking to just say that I had an accident at the house. It's not a complete lie. I mean, it happened at the house."

"But it wasn't an accident." It wasn't a question. It was a statement. "What happened?"

I went through what had happened this morning. I explained to him about what had happened when I'd woken up, gone downstairs, gotten an evil look from Esme as I mentioned I'd had a drink from the bottle – one of Esme's pet peeves and quickest way to get on her shit list – which turned into a look of shock as I explained what happened with the woman in the study.

The two of them sat there, silent for a few moments before Carlisle ran his hand through his hair and stood up.

"Did you know who the woman was?" He asked and I shook my head. "No, you just got into town, of course you wouldn't."

"She was definitely rich. She was covered in diamonds and expensive shit. She wasn't one of the staff, I could tell that straight away." I sighed, shaking my head. "I don't know what to do about this. I mean, what do I do? Try and just get along with a pissed off dead woman and try to avoid her from now on, or try and figure out what's angered her so much and hope she'll go away?"

"Maybe you should stay here?" Esme suggested and I shook my head. "Why not? You'd be safe here. There have got to be so many . . . spirits? Whatever you want to call them, there have got to be so many in that house. You know nothing's happened in this house. You'd be safe here."

"I came here to escape and all I get is a haunted house." I laughed, shaking my head, feeling the exhaustion creeping up on me. "I mean, when I moved here I just wanted to get away from all of this and now I'm in the middle of it all again. Is there no way that I can get away from this?"

"I don't think so, son." Carlisle said softly, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Maybe I can find somewhere that no humans have been before." I laughed again and they looked at me, shocked. "What? If I can find somewhere there haven't been humans before, then no humans have died there before, right? Means I should be alright."

"I don't think we can let you do that, Edward." Carlisle smiled at me and I shook my head.

"I just want it to go away." I knew I sounded like I was whining but I really didn't care. This was something I'd had to deal with my entire life and I just wanted someone to take it away. I wanted to get rid of it. I didn't care how. I just didn't want to be able to see dead people anymore.

We didn't linger long on the topic of the woman in my study and back onto what Esme wanted to do to the house. I reminded her that before I could even think about what colour to paint the walls, I had to make sure that there was nothing to hazardous in the house at the time. I had to repair everything that needed it.

Hell, I wanted a fixer-upper, right?

Well, I got one.

After spending a relaxing afternoon with Carlisle and Esme, I made my way home feeling a little bit lighter than I had since I decided to move here. I parked the car and felt my phone vibrating in my back pocket. I couldn't help but smile as I saw that it was Jasper on the other end of the line.

"Hey, man."

"_Hey, I was thinking, did you want to head to the hardware store and pick up some shit for the house."_ He sounded mostly casual but there was something else in his voice I couldn't place.

"Are you sure, man. I mean, I could probably find my way round there myself. I don't want to put you out or anything?" I bit down on my lip, hoping I didn't sound like I was blowing him off. There was something about him I couldn't understand. I wanted to trust him but my previous experience with trusting people made me wary.

I _wanted_ to trust him.

I just needed him to prove to me that I could.

"_Nah, being honest, I'm bored and wouldn't mind getting to know you better." _Was it wrong that my chest tightened a little at his words? I mean, it had been so long since someone other than my aunt and uncle had been in my corner. I wasn't sure how to take this kind of information.

"Sure, um . . ." I wasn't sure how to proceed with this.

"_Want me to meet you at your house?"_ Did I? Maybe that would be easier than anything else. But would he want to come inside? "_If not, it's alright. I just thought it might be easier if we took one vehicle."_

"No, no, it's fine." I rushed out, hoping that I hadn't offended him. "It just took me by surprise, that's all. The vibe I got from everyone else in town, this house was the one to avoid." I let out a short chuckle.

"_I don't believe in ghosts so I guess you're fine there."_ I let out a breath, wondering what the hell he was going to think if he ever did find out my secret.

He'd probably think I was nuts and try and get me committed.

Not somewhere I want to go again.

"If you want to come over, that's fine." I tried to sound casual but I wasn't sure of how convincing it was. "It might be easier for you to drive anyway, considering you know where everything in this town is."

"_Don't worry, you'll work it out soon enough."_ He chuckled and I rolled my eyes, being reminded of how small this town was.

We hung up, Jasper saying he would be at my house in a few minutes. I took that time to run inside and treat the scratches with disinfectant and clean them out again before taking some more Tylenol. I washed my face quickly, hearing Jasper's car coming up the driveway. I couldn't help but smile when I thought about spending a few hours alone with Jasper.

I was losing it completely if this was how I was after meeting a cute guy.

I rolled my eyes at my own stupidity.

I met him outside and he grinned at me, leaning against his car. "Alright?" I called, jogging down the steps to the car and he stepped away, gesturing for me to get in.

Climbing into the car, I could see that it kind of reflected who he seemed to be as a person. It was relaxed and laid back and everything Jasper appeared to be.

Who knew that running around the hardware store with another grown man could be so much fun. And who knew that someone could turn so many hardware tools into lewd remarks. Apparently, Jasper could. I don't think I'd laughed so much in my entire life.

"So," he said softly as we drove back to my house. "You going to tell me what happened to your face, Edward?" I let out a breath, wondering when that was going to come up. "Come on, what happened? Can't be that bad?"

"Well . . . let's just say I had an argument with the stairs and a loose floorboard and I'm not saying anything more about it." I laughed and he chuckled gently, shaking his head.

"I think we've all been there."

"Tell me about it."

We clambered out of his car, grabbing everything we'd bought and tried getting it up the stairs without falling. It was easier said than done, when I had to try and find my keys in my pocket and get them into the door without dropping anything on the way.

When we eventually fell through the door, the two of us were in stitches, finding it hard to try and stand upright while laughing. I don't think I'd ever laughed as much as I had in these last few hours with Jasper Hale.

"Alright, you shove those in the study and I'll get us a drink of water." I laughed and he nodded, grabbing the rest of the bags and making his way through the main living area. "And don't hurt yourself." He laughed and I chuckled, grabbing the box I knew had the glasses in it and pulling them out, running them under the water, cleaning them out before filling them with water.

I turned around to see a man standing in the doorway where I knew Jasper would be walking through in a matter of moments. He was dressed from the same decade as the woman but the only difference between them was whereas her skin had been impeccable, his was sliced and hacked to pieces.

He stalked towards me, his stride purposeful as he grabbed me around the throat, his actions causing me to drop the glasses in my hand, sending a splintering crash through the house. He grabbed my arm, his nails digging into my flesh as his grip on my throat tightened.

"Edward?" I heard Jasper calling my name but all I could focus on was the bottomless black eyes directly in front of my face. "Edward!"

The man in front of me disappeared and I fell to the ground, trying to suck as much air into my lungs as possible. I felt Jasper's hand on my shoulder as I felt the shards from the broken glasses cutting into the flesh on my palm.

"Shit! Don't move." He got up, taking off his jacket, lifting my hand and placing it gently on the protective fabric, palm up. "Edward, what happened? What the hell happened to you?"

I closed my eyes, wondering if I was going to make the right decision, but knowing that I really didn't have a choice. Time to see if Jasper was as trustworthy as he seemed.

"Let's just say, the rumours about this place," he looked at me as though I was telling him a joke he didn't quite understand the punch-line to, "they're true."

"What the fuck?" Jasper looked pissed about what I was telling him. "What the hell does that have to do with what just happened here?"

"It has everything to do with it." I looked up at him, hoping that he could see the seriousness of the situation in my eye. He stopped what he was doing and looked at me, his eyes not wavering from mine. "It has _everything_ to do with what just happened." I took a deep breath, closing my eyes. "I see the dead, Jasper."

"What?" And here come the accusations that I'm nuts and I should be locked up. "What did you say?"

I opened my eyes and looked at him, taking in his completely surprised expression. I knew for a fact that that wasn't something he was expecting.

"I see the dead, Jasper." I repeated softly. "I see ghosts."

. . . . . . . . . .


	5. Chapter IV

_****__**Disclaimer: No matter how much I wish I did, I don't own Twilight. I just like to take the characters and put them in positions that would probably terrify Stephenie Meyer.**_

_**Jasper**_

I don't think I will ever get used to how quickly rumours and news spreads in this town.

I've lived in this tiny town for nearly five years now and it still amazes me that everyone can find crap out so quickly.

And the gossips had been alive and well since the news that someone had finally bought the old Crowley house.

From the stories I'd heard about it, whoever was moving in there was either completely crazy or extremely brave.

But as it turned out, he just didn't have a clue about the stories that surrounded the mansion that had once held one of Forks' most prosperous families.

I hadn't known what to expect when Rosalie had walked into my house and told me that the new guy had moved in and that he was absolutely gorgeous. Well, apart from the fact that she better not share her opinion of his looks with Emmett, that is or else he won't be happy.

She told me that he hadn't been aware of the history of the house he'd just moved into and didn't seem too pleased about learning after it had been signed for bought and the papers all processed and filed. I could see where he was coming from. I don't think that would be something I would be too keen on either.

"He's seems just your type, Jazz." She'd giggled and I rolled my eyes at her, stating that not only was he new in a town he knew nothing about, that we knew nothing about him and that he might have a wife and kids following him out here soon. She smiled, shaking her head, telling me that he'd mentioned that it was just him that was moving in as she'd shown him around the house.

Also came the fact that we had no idea if he was gay or not.

I hadn't expected Rose to be right about him though.

Well, I had no if he was gay or not but she was right about the fact that he was absolutely gorgeous. His bronze hair, bright green eyes and sharp jawline. He was absolutely stunning and there was no way that he belonged in this dreary little town.

He seemed laid back enough when he was sat in the diner with Emmett but there was a moment when he was talking to some of the troublemakers that made me glad I didn't teach at the high school level where he was tense as he spoke to them before turning back to Emmett to continue his conversation.

There was some way in the way he moved. He was lithe and confident in his movements and I couldn't help but watch him as I walked into the diner. I made my way over to the two of them, not taking my eyes off him as I walked up behind Emmett, greeting him before anything else, waiting for an introduction from Emmett.

Edward Masen.

Normally I wasn't a fan of the name Edward. It made me think of a stuffy old guy wearing a suit, not being able to let go of his youth but with him, it suited him.

There was something about him that made me want to get to know him, even though I'd only been in his company for a moment or two. I couldn't tell you what I was feeling when he told me that he would take a walk with me. It was as though something else had decided to make an appearance.

He seemed to loosen up as we spoke and I took a couple of cigarettes even though I knew Rose was going to kill me if she discovered I'd been smoking again. Damn woman was like my mother. But then again, she'd been there for me when our mother wasn't and even though she was only twelve minutes older than me, it sometimes seemed like she was older than me by years.

I'd been slightly surprised when he asked me jokingly if I didn't work and laughed at the shocked expression when I told him that not at the moment I didn't. I was sure that he probably thought that I was a layabout until I informed him that I was a teacher and was out for the holidays. It had completely slipped away from me to find out what he did for a living but there was something about the way he was that stopped me from asking.

Even though I'd only spoken with him for a little while and not really about anything of consequence I could see that there was something he had locked inside of him. Something that he didn't share with the outside world. Something that looked like he was struggling to keep on top of without imploding.

He needed someone to trust and part of me wanted to be that person.

But there was also a part of me that knew that he was probably defensive and been hurt before.

Part of me wanted to be the one for him to open up to.

"So, what I tell you, Jazz?" Rose winked at me as she took another bite of the pasta she'd made.

"Yeah, you were right, actually." I smiled and she grinned, seeming pleased with herself. There were still some things that had yet to be discovered about him but I had to admit, Rose had been right about the fact that the new guy in town was absolutely frickin' gorgeous.

"Right about what?" Emmett asked, looking between the two of us, taking another enormous bite of Rosalie's homemade garlic bread. I honestly had no idea where he packed everything he ate. He was like a fucking dustbin.

"Rose thinks the new guy is hot." I smirked as her hand fell to the table, causing her fork to clatter against the plate in front of her. "Well, he is." I shrugged and she narrowed her eyes at me.

"It was an observation made on behalf of my brother." She replied and I knew I was in trouble.

"So have you got insider information telling you that he's definitely gay?" I raised an eyebrow and she stared at me again, not backing down.

"It's a feeling I have." She mimicked my shrug and I laughed. "You know for a gay man your gaydar needs retuning. You might want to get that fixed."

"Why are we thinking that he's gay?" Emmett looked between the two of us, clearly because he was confused about what we were talking about. "Rosie, don't tell me you're trying to set Jasper up again?" He moaned and I laughed, taking another bite. My sister was notorious about trying to find me someone. She thought that because she was happy with Emmett and settled down and all of that crap that it was her mission to find someone for me to settle down.

A mission that wasn't exactly easy in the tiny town of Forks.

After going through the rest of dinner with Rosalie making pointed remarks about the fact that I was going to be alone when I went home and about how it was great to have someone to curl up with at night.

I told her to shut it and I could figure everything out for myself.

She wasn't happy but she knew to leave it when I snapped at her.

She didn't like it but she left it alone.

. . . . . . . . .

I didn't know what prompted me to call Edward earlier on but I was glad that I had. Taking him to the hardware store had turned shopping for tools and DIY shit into a completely different experience. Normally when I went, either by myself or with Emmett it was go in, get what's needed and get out. Never before had I actually just taken the time to wander and make jokes with someone.

And I had a feeling that Edward hadn't laughed so much in a long time. Neither had I to be perfectly honest.

Who knew that you could turn a monkey wrench into something dirty? Well, apparently you could.

It wasn't until we were nearly back at his house that I brought up the three large scratches on his left cheek. I'd wanted to bring them up earlier, wanting to know what had happened because they looked nasty. He hadn't managed to get into some kind of trouble his first night in town, had he?

I kind of felt myself sag with relief when he told me that he'd 'had a fight with the stairs and a loose floorboard'. I could see that there was something else behind his words but I didn't really know what to do about it. I mean, what was I supposed to say? 'Alright, nice try, I know you're lying now tell me the truth?'

Not fucking likely so I left it as we started to make more jokes as we made our way into the house. He made his way into the kitchen as I took the bags through into what I guessed was the study. It led out onto the conservatory and I had to smile at the view this room had. The Crowley's had got it right when they built this place all those years ago. Mid eighteenth century I think.

I wondered if they realised what this house would become. I had a feeling they wanted it to be the talk of the town but I doubt they wanted it to have the reputation it does now.

I turned sharply at the sound of glass smashing in the kitchen and practically ran through the house to see Edward pressed up against the counter in front of the sink, his hand gripped around something in front of him and his other arm bent out at a slightly awkward angle. It looked like he was struggling to breath and I couldn't help but pause and wonder what the fuck was happening to him.

What the hell was his doing?

I looked down at his arm, seeing marks appearing and I snapped out whatever stupor I was in and rushed over to him. "Edward?" I called, hoping that I wasn't going to scare the shit out of him. "Edward!"

He seemed to snap out of it before slumping to the ground, breathing as though he had been deprived of the vital life source, his hands landing on the shattered glass the surrounded him. He didn't seem to notice the shards digging into his hands.

"Shit!" I cursed, starting to take off my jacket. I might have been confused and scared as fuck about what I'd just seen but there was no way I was going to leave him when he was hurt. I wanted to know what the fuck was going on, though. "Don't move." I gently lifted up his hands and placed the jacket on the ground, palm up and I could see that his hands were going to be a mess for a while. "Edward, what happened? What the hell happened to you?"

He closed his eyes, letting out a gust of air. His breathing had slowed and evened out. He opened his eyes to look at me and the main thing I saw there was fear. He wasn't just scared. He was fucking terrified and I couldn't understand why. The look in eyes told me he was judging me. For what, I didn't know but I wanted to find out.

"Let's just say, the rumours about this place," what the hell was he talking about? I wanted to know what he was going through right now and not think about people's fucked up stories about this place. "They're true."

Say what? "What the fuck?" Was he seriously trying to deflect here? He'd been in here for a night, heard some noises which would probably be the house settling after standing empty for so long and he's trying to tell me that the stories the locals have been passing around for so long are true over telling me what the fuck happened in here not five minutes ago. "What the hell does that have to do with what just happened here?"

"It has everything to do with it." What the hell was he talking about? Had he hit his head on the way down that I hadn't noticed? "It has _everything _to do with what just happened." He closed his eyes before taking another breath. "I see the dead, Jasper."

What.

The.

Fuck?

"What?" Was he fucking serious? "What did you say?"

The look in his eyes when he opened them and looked at me held nothing but conviction and honesty. "I see the dead, Jasper." He repeated, his voice barely above a whisper. "I see ghosts."

I had no idea what to say to that so I just sat there staring at him. I knew that this wasn't really helping him but I had no idea what to do. Was this some kind of joke? Was there a team of camera crews waiting to leap out and humiliate me on national television?

I shook my head and looked around the kitchen and found some packing paper that must have been wrapped around the glasses he had been carrying. I grabbed it from the side before moving Edward's hands onto his lap and moving my jacket out of the way. I flattened out the paper over the glass, moving what I could out of the way of where both Edward and I were.

"You have a first aid kit?" I asked and he nodded, closing his eyes.

"Bathroom. In the master bedroom under the sink.." There was a note of defeat in his voice and I didn't really care for the shaking I heard in his life.

I stood up and made my way upstairs, checking each room for Edward's things before making my way into the bedroom at the end of the hallway. I quickly saw that I was definitely in the right bedroom when I saw that there were toiletries lined up on the bathroom counter. I walked quickly into the bathroom and opened up the cabinet under the sink, spotting the first aid kit quickly and making my way back downstairs.

"Hey, you okay?" I asked, kneeling down in front of him. He nodded, his eyes still closed. He had a slight stain on his cheek and I could have sworn he'd been crying. I hated that I'd done that to him but when someone believes that they can see ghosts, what the hell else do you do? How the hell do you go with that?

I had no idea what to say to him. I could either sound patronising or really hurt him and I didn't want to do either. Even though I'd only spent a handful of hours with him but I'd really come to like him in that time.

I looked at his hands, grabbing the tweezers he had in the first aid kit and removing some of the glass I could see. It was in circumstances like this that I was glad I had first aid training.

"I think you need to see a doctor, Edward." I said softly and his eyes snapped opened with an undetermined look in his eyes. What was he thinking? Normally, I could read people easily but there was something about Edward. I couldn't seem to understand him at all. "I might have first aid training but it's better to see someone who actually knows exactly what they're doing."

He looked down at his hands, as though he was just remembering that his hands were all cut up from the glass. Something in his expression changed and I immediately knew what it was he was thinking. When I'd mentioned a doctor, he must have thought that I meant a psychiatrist rather than a medical doctor. I could see why he would think that considering what he'd just told me.

"I think we should get you to the hospital. Get it checked out." I suggested and he shook his head.

"My uncle is a doctor. I can just call him." He sighed and I nodded.

"What's your uncle's name?"

"Carlisle."

"Carlisle Cullen?" He nodded and I let out a breath. The Cullen's had become quick to befriend me and my sister when we moved to town. Esme and Carlisle were some of the kindest people I'd ever met and now that he mentioned that Carlisle I knew that he must have had some idea of what Edward believed.

I pulled my phone out of my jacket pocket and scrolled down to Carlisle's number, hitting the dial button.

"_Hello? Jasper?"_

"Hey, Carlisle, um . . . I think you need to come to Edward's place."

"_Is everything okay? What happened?"_ He sounded worried and I wondered if something had happened before. "_Jasper, what happened?"_

"I don't know." I admitted honestly. I clearly had no clue of what happened. "We came back from the hardware store and I was putting the stuff into the study and the next thing I know, Edward's hands are all cut up and there's glass everywhere."

"_I'm on my way, Jasper."_ I could hear movement on the other end of the phone and I knew it would be a matter of minutes before he was here.

I hung up the phone and turned back to Edward, who again had his eyes closed. "Hey, Carlisle's on his way. Shouldn't be too long till he's here." He nodded, his only acknowledgement. I sat there for a few minutes, not really knowing what to say. I didn't know how to address what had happened when I walked in. Or even ask what it was I'd walked in on. Being perfectly honest, it looked like he was having some kind of seizure while standing up.

I looked at his arm, seeing five faint bruises appearing along with cuts on his arm that looked like fingernail marks. What I was seeing in front of me was at war with what was going through my head. There was no way there could have been anything there.

There was nothing there.

Right?

"Jasper?" I turned, hearing Carlisle's voice, breathing a sigh of relief.

"In the kitchen." I called back and Edward's eyes opened as Carlisle walked into the room.

I moved out of the way, letting Carlisle do his work as he spoke quickly and quietly to Edward. I couldn't hear what he was saying but I knew it was private so I stood there, watching what Carlisle was doing. Carlisle stiffened at something Edward had said and his fingers immediately flew to Edward's neck. My eyes widened when I saw the same finger marks appearing on Edward's neck. This wasn't happening, was it?

Was Edward really attacked by someone?

He couldn't have been, could he? No he couldn't have been. There was no one there.

"Take these and get some rest, okay?" Carlisle passed him a couple of white pills and I moved around the island in the centre of the kitchen to get another one of the glasses out of the box and filled it with water, handing it to him. He gave me a grateful look, grasping it tightly. I noticed that in my zone out Carlisle had managed to wrap his hands and he downed the pills and water quickly. I took the glass from him quickly in case he didn't have a good grip on it and it ended up like the other two. I'd clean those up before I left. I didn't want him to walk down here and hurt himself.

"Get some rest." Carlisle repeated softly and I nodded in agreement. He nodded, taking a breath and making his way towards the stairs.

"Jasper?" He called softly and I turned to see him watching me closely. "I'm sorry."

I waved him off, shaking my head. "Nothing to be sorry for. It's not your fault. Just get some rest and I'll call you tomorrow." He nodded, not appearing happy with my words but acquiescing nonetheless.

"Jasper, what happened _exactly."_ Carlisle asked as soon as Edward had closed the bedroom door behind him.

"I don't know." I sighed, running my hands through my hair. "We'd come in and I was putting the stuff we'd bought into the study and then I hear the glasses smashing and when I came in here . . ." I paused, not knowing how to carry on. He nodded for me to go on.

"I've heard anything you could tell me, Jasper. Anything you've got to say won't surprise me." He smiled and I relaxed slightly. "Edward won't mind."

"Alright. When I came in here, it looked like he was fighting with someone. Like someone was attacking him, kind of. I don't know. I don't know what it looked like. It sounds crazy but if I'm honest, it looked like there was someone attacking him but there was no one there." I sighed, knowing I was sounding crazy.

"I had a feeling that was it." He sighed, running a hand down his face. "Jasper, I know that Edward told you and I need you to understand, Edward is not crazy. He is not seeing things. Just because we can't see them, doesn't mean they're not there. And as I'm sure you can see, Edward was hurt. I know it seems unexplainable but just talk to him. Ask him questions. Nothing is actually as stupid as it sounds to you." He looked at me with a small smile. "If anything, Edward needs someone other than Esme and myself to talk to. To confide in and I can't think of anyone better for that than you."

"I don't know what I'm doing."

"Who the hell does?" I raised an eyebrow at his language. In all the time I'd known him I'd never heard anything like that come out of Carlisle's mouth. Not the well-spoken gentleman everyone thinks he is, is he? " I know this has all been sprung on you and you're trying to process but there's one thing you need to understand."

"What's that?"

"Just because you can't see it, it doesn't mean it's not there."

I say again:

What.

The.

Fuck?

. . . . . . . . .


	6. Chapter V

_****__****__**Disclaimer: No matter how much I wish I did, I don't own Twilight. I just like to take the characters and put them in positions that would probably terrify Stephenie Meyer.**_

_**Edward**_

What the hell had I just done?

I had just told the one person I think I was getting close to in this town that I see ghosts. Now he was going to think I was a fucking Looney Tune and probably recommend that I be committed again.

At worst he would tell the town I was fucking nuts and at best he would probably stop talking to me and avoid me like the plague. I wouldn't blame him if he did.

"You have a first aid kit?" He asked and I knew that he was just avoiding what I'd told him. Better to plead ignorance than admit you know the truth about someone, right?

"Bathroom. In the master bedroom under the sink." I tried to keep the shaking out of my voice but it wasn't working. Who knew what was causing it. Maybe it was the adrenaline wearing off, the shock of what had happened or the threat of the town finding out my secret.

He quickly stood up and made his way up the stairs. I let out a breath, blinking back the tears that I could feel forming in my eyes. I couldn't let anyone see me cry at anything, least of all Jasper. I didn't want him to think that I was unstable as well as nuts. Then again, he probably already did. Thinking of Jasper pushing me away after the time we'd spent together made it so I couldn't actually stop the tears. I wanted to brush them away but I didn't have the energy or the will to do so. I closed my eyes, wanting it all to go away. Wanting to turn the clock back fifteen minutes and not let him leave me on my own.

He walked around the corner and I could hear him dropping to his knees in front of me. "Hey," his voice was soft and caring. I nodded, not opening my eyes. I knew that he thought that I was nuts and because of that I knew I couldn't look at him. I couldn't handle seeing the look in his eyes. The pity I knew that I would see there.

I couldn't handle that.

He gently picked up my hand and I could feel a slight tugging at the skin. I knew that I had glass in the cuts on my hands and I guessed that he was trying to get them out.

"I think you need to see a doctor, Edward." He whispered softly and I looked at him. What the fuck did he mean by that? I knew that he would think that I was insane but to say it in such a callous way was unbelievable. "I might have first aid training but it's better to see someone who actually knows exactly what they're doing."

What?

I looked down at my hands, seeing them covered in blood. It was then that the pain of the cuts on my palms registered in my head and my hands started to throb. He wasn't talking about a therapist. He was talking about going to the hospital to see someone that could stitch up my hands.

"I think we should get you to the hospital. Get it checked out." He suggested and I shook my head, not wanting to go out right now. I knew I was a mess and looking this way was bound to raise questions I didn't really want to answer.

Not that I would be telling the truth to anyone else anyway but that wasn't the point.

"My uncle is a doctor." I sighed, not able to take my eyes off the sight of my hand. "I can just call him."

"What's your uncle's name?"

"Carlisle."

"Carlisle Cullen?" He asked and I nodded unsurprised that he knew who I was talking about with nothing more than a first name. Everyone in this town knew each other and keeping a secret here was harder than anything else. I knew that I was going to have to work hard to make sure that no one else found out about what I could see.

I would be cast out in no time if more people found out. I had to make sure that Jasper didn't tell anyone. He wouldn't, would he? Would he mention it to Carlisle? Even if he didn't know that Carlisle knew.

I guess the question was, could I trust Jasper?

I want to. So much but I hadn't trusted someone in years so it made it difficult for me to open myself up to him in the way that I wanted to.

I could hear him on the phone to Carlisle but I wasn't really listening to what he was saying. I closed my eyes, letting out a breath, knowing that someone that knew what I could see and didn't think that I was insane. I didn't have to worry about Carlisle judging me like others would. I knew that I could trust him with my words.

"Hey," I heard Jasper call. "Carlisle's on his way. Shouldn't be too long till he's here." I nodded slowly, letting him know that I'd heard him. He was silent for a few minutes and I could feel the tension radiating off of him. I knew he was having trouble understanding what he'd seen. To his eyes, there was an invisible force pushing me back into the counter. His mind wouldn't be able to comprehend that there was something there that he couldn't see. He wouldn't fully understand what he'd seen.

"Jasper?" Carlisle was here and I felt my shoulders sag slightly in relief.

"In the kitchen." Jasper called back, his voice still soft as I opened my eyes to see Carlisle walking into the kitchen. He knelt down in front of me, concern in his eyes and I knew he was worried. "What happened, Edward?"

"Apparently, I pissed off a ghost." I said softly and I could see he didn't look amused at my words. "I know." I sighed, leaning my head back on the cupboard behind me.

"What happened?" He asked softly.

"It tried to strangle me." I whispered and he stiffened, his hands flying to my throat. "I'm fine. Jasper came in before anything happened." He raised an eyebrow at me. "Well, more than what already had."

"Take these and get some rest, okay?" I nodded, taking the pills and I looked up to see Jasper handing me a glass of water. It was then that I noticed that Carlisle had bandaged my hands and I had to grasp the glass tightly to make sure I didn't drop it. Knowing my luck, I was about to drop the third glass for tonight.

I quickly downed the pills and water and Jasper took the glass. He probably thought the same thing I did and didn't want me dropping another glass.

He stood up, looking a little shaky. I gave Jasper a small smile as Carlisle placed a hand on my shoulder gently. "Get some rest." He said softly and I nodded, knowing that that was the thing I needed right now.

"Jasper?" He turned towards me, a small smile on his face as he watched me. He probably thought that I was a complete loon and couldn't wait to be out of the house. "I'm sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry for." He waved me off, shaking his head. "It's not your fault." No, you just think I'm crazy. "Just get some rest and I'll call you tomorrow." I nodded, knowing that he was eager to get away from me. I doubted that I would be hearing from Jasper any time soon. I had no doubt that he would avoid being alone with me and possibly go out of his way to avoid me when he saw me around town.

I mean, it was a small town. It's not like you could avoid anyone for long here.

Unless you didn't leave the house. Which at the moment seemed more and more a desirable option.

I closed the door to my bedroom, feeling my heart drop even more. I didn't know whether Carlisle would stay here and I wouldn't ask him to. I wouldn't ask him to spend time away from Esme for me. Besides, it seemed like it didn't matter whether there was someone else in the house. There were some pissed off ghosts in this house and they didn't seem to like me at all.

I lay down on my bed, curling up under the blankets, letting out a sigh. I could feel the pills Carlisle had given me starting to kick in. They must have had some kind of mild sedative in them because when I closed my eyes, there wasn't anything that could stop me from drifting off.

. . . . . . . . .

Opening my eyes, I blinked, noticing that the sun was up. I grabbed my phone from the nightstand, seeing that it was just after nine in the morning. I rolled onto my back, sighing, kind of thankful that nothing else seemed to have happened after I passed out and I wondered whether or not Jasper's words from last night were true.

Would he call?

Or would I have lost the only friend I had in Forks? Pretty much the only friend I had, period.

I climbed out of bed, flinching at the cold floor underneath my feet. I grabbed a sweater from my dresser and tugged it on, wincing at the flash of pain through my hands. I glanced down, seeing the bandages wrapped around my palms, remembering the shattered glasses from the night before. I let out a silent groan at the thought of having to clear up the glass and whatever blood came from my hands when I'd cut myself. I really didn't want to do that.

I walked downstairs, running my hand through my hair and walking into the kitchen. I stopped, seeing that there wasn't any glass on the floor. There wasn't even any sign that anything had happened. Had one of them cleaned up after I'd crashed last night? I could see that being something that Carlisle would do for me but was there a chance that Jasper had stayed and helped to clean up?

I jumped as a groan came from behind me. Slowly, I crept towards the living room where I'd heard the noise. I felt my brow furrow as I heard it again and something moved on the sofa.

"Hello?" I called softly and the figure froze before springing up. I jumped back as I saw Jasper sitting there, bleary eyed and his hair looking like he'd lost a fight with a bush. "Jasper?"

"Huh?" He blinked, looking up at me.

"What are you doing here?" He'd stayed?

"I, um . . ." He had a blanket thrown over him and he looked confused at how to get it off of him. He looked down at it as though it held the answers to all of life's problems. It was quite adorable actually. "Well," he managed to get it off of him and he swivelled round so that his feet were on the floor as I walked around to sit at the other end of the couch, "after everything that happened yesterday, I didn't want . . ."

"Didn't want what?" What was he talking about?

"I didn't want to leave you on your own." He whispered, looking down at his lap and I felt something inside me swell. He didn't want to leave me on my own? Even after what I'd told him?

Who was this guy and where did he come from?

And did I have to give him back?

"Edward?" Hearing him calling my name, I looked back at him. "I think we need to talk about what happened yesterday."

I felt my good feeling drop and I curled my legs underneath me, leaning away from him and into the arm of the couch. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Edward. Look at me." His voice was soft, pleading and I couldn't help but turn my head up to look at him. "After you went upstairs, Carlisle said something that made me think. He told me that just because we can't see something, it doesn't mean it's not there. It made me think about what I saw in the kitchen yesterday and what I'm seeing on you now," my hand immediately went to my throat, knowing what he was talking about the bruises on my neck, "and I knew that I couldn't leave you here on your own. What he said . . . it was true. Even though I couldn't see anything there, it's obvious that there was and . . . that scares me."

I sighed, running my hand through my hair. "Well, most people are afraid of ghosts."

"That's not what I meant." He shook his head, placing his hand in between us. "I'm not afraid of them," he waved his hand around, probably indicating the ghosts that didn't want to leave. "I'm afraid for you."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you've been here a couple of days and look what's happened to you. You've been attacked twice and it's obvious that they know you can see them. That they can hurt you. Who knows when they'll stop." He was getting worked up and I couldn't help but wonder why. He didn't even know me. Not really.

"They won't stop until they get what they want." I shrugged and he sighed, shaking his head.

"Do you know what that is?" I shook my head and he bit his lip. "Is there anything it _could _be?"

"I don't know. It could be closure. Find out what happened to them and why. Sometimes that's what it takes. They just want to know why they died. Was there a reason? Was it someone they knew or was it just a mindless act that cost them their lives?"

"So, you could find that out and they could go?" He sounded hopeful and I knew that I could destroy that in a moment.

"Maybe. I don't know. It could be that or it could be . . ."

"Could be what?"

"It could just be that they want to take as many people with them into whatever hell they're in as they can." His shoulders dropped and I saw the fight leave him. "I don't know. It's not like I can sit down and ask them. They're not too chatty."

"They just like to strangle you and try and cut you to pieces." He rolled his eyes and I chuckled.

"Not only that. They've never talked." He raised an eyebrow and I shook my head. "I've seen them my whole life. It was only when I was about four and asked who the man outside the house was that I realised that no one else could see them. My parents didn't talk about it and told me not to as well. I think maybe they thought that it was an imaginary friend or something but I just knew not to talk about it. But I've seen hundreds of them and not one of them has ever said a word. They've screamed and shrieked or moaned or whatever but none of them has ever spoken to me."

"So you've never really had an idea of what they wanted?" I shook my head, sighing gently, leaning against my hand. "This is dangerous, Edward."

"I know. But it's what I know. There's no way for me to get rid of it and it's something I've got to deal with for the rest of my life. There's nowhere in the world that there hasn't been some kind of death which means that I can't escape it. Normally, they're not dangerous, they're just annoying but every so often, there's one that's just pissed off with everything."

"This has happened before?" He sounded upset, scared maybe.

"Once, yeah. I was eight and climbing a tree that was in our backyard. The only one we had. I was just sat there, watching my mom pruning her flowers and then there was this little boy. He looked about my age but he was wearing different clothing. Thinking back on it, it was Edwardian, I guess. You know, turn of the century. He didn't say anything. He just stared at me with black eyes as he sat next to me and the next thing I knew, he'd pushed me off the branch and I was on the ground and my arm was broken." Jasper's jaw had dropped and I gave him a small smile, waving him off gently. "I had a broken arm and a concussion . . . when I got home from the hospital the next day . . . the tree was gone."

"I'm sorry, Edward." He whispered, sliding over towards me and wrapping his arm around me.

"It's okay. I was more upset about the tree. My dad had promised me that we were going to build a tree house in there for my ninth birthday. Obviously that didn't happen. I didn't care that I'd been hurt or whatever. I just wanted the tree back."

"It sucks that you had to grow up so fast. You never really had a childhood, did you?" I shook my head, knowing that I really didn't. I hadn't really been aware of what I was missing out on until I'd reached high school and the other kids would talk about embarrassing things they did or had done to them when they were kids. It was hard to talk about sometimes. Knowing there were things I'd missed out on because of what I could do and see.

"No. It was kind of hard when you're being watched by things that no one else could see." I curled up a little more and Jasper's arm tightened around me.

"I don't like the idea of you being hurt." He whispered and I turned to look up at him, not realising how close he was as his lips brushed mine. I moved away slightly and he looked down at me, something shining his eyes.

I drew in a breath as his lips gently pressed against mine. I froze for a second before relaxing into his kiss. His lips were soft and warm and I wanted to sigh at the feeling but I managed to refrain. He increased the pressure and I kissed him back with the same amount of force.

He let out a soft moan and I felt his tongue brush against my bottom lip gently. I opened my mouth, feeling his tongue, quickly take advantage. For first thing in the morning, I had to say, he tasted amazing but it wasn't something I was really focusing on at the moment.

I wasn't sure how long we were like that, sitting on the sofa, dare I say it, making out but I had to pull away or otherwise I was going to pass out through lack of oxygen.

"Wow." He whispered, resting his forehead against mine. "Edward . . . wow."

"You said that already." He chuckled and I pulled away from him slightly. "Jasper . . . what is this to you?" I asked and he raised an eyebrow at me. "I need to know Jasper. If this is just . . . something for you to get out of your system then, you need to tell me now. I can't-"

He cut me off by kissing me harshly, with more force than he had before. "This isn't something for me to 'get stuff out of my system', Edward." He whispered, his lips brushing against my cheek softly. "Ask anyone around here, I don't just do this. I like you, Edward. I can't explain it but I do. And," he ran his fingers through my hair gently, "I want to see where this is going. This isn't something that I take lightly. I'm willing to see it through if you are."

"Definitely." I whispered and he grinned leaning down again.

Hmm . . . maybe Forks wasn't so bad after all.

. . . . . . . . .


End file.
